Beauty brands STILL haven't removed MI

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Despite a
European recommendation to remove the synthetic preservative
methylisothiazolinone (also known as MI) from leave-on cosmetics, many brands
are still using it in their products.

A special report in the
Mail on Sunday reveals that some cosmetics companies who pledged to remove MI
have failed to do so in some of their products. But it's not just cheap,
mainstream brands that still contain this chemical; even designer, high end
brands are yet to remove MI from some of their products.

The allergy epidemic

What has been described by
doctors as the worst skin allergy ‘epidemic’ many have ever seen has been
linked to an increased use of MI in cosmetic products.

MI was first flagged up by
doctors as a danger 2 years ago, after it was discovered that 1 in 10 eczema
patients in hospital skin clinics were allergic to the chemical. Since then,
studies have shown that MI in cosmetics is responsible for causing an allergy
epidemic, and because the preservative is still in use, this epidemic has yet
to subside.

This year, scientific
advisers at the European Commission have called for MI to be completely banned
from all cosmetics that are left on the skin after application (e.g. face
creams) and for their use in wash off products to be dramatically reduced.
There is also a growing concern that companies are not acting fast enough to
remove MI, which could be causing harm to the public.

Methylisothiazolinone linked to contact dermatitis

The preservative MI has
been recently used in much higher doses than ever before, and has reportedly
led to what has been described as an ‘epidemic’ of cases of contact dermatitis.

Contact dermatitis can
cause skin to become red and itchy, and can also cause rashes, scaling,
swelling, stinging and blistering. Eczema is the most common type of contact
dermatitis affecting one in twelve adults and one in five children.

Concentrations of MI rising

Although the substance is
safe and non-toxic and has been used in cosmetics for a number of years,
recently concentrations have become stronger.
Previously, methylisothiazolinone was used in much smaller
concentrations and mixed with another preservative known as MCI, but in 2005
fears that MCI was causing allergies led manufacturers to start using MI as a
single agent.

Experts say that since the
increase in concentration of MI in products, there has been a serious rise in
cases of contact dermatitis. Doctors estimate that one in ten patients they are
seeing with eczema or dermatitis has been caused by an allergy to the
preservative MI.

Why methylisothiazolinone causes an allergic reaction

The preservative stops
products growing mould by binding microbes and preventing bugs from thriving.
The reason this can cause an allergic reaction is that the immune systems of
some people can mistakenly identify MI as a threat.

At a major conference for
the British Association of Dermatologists being held in Liverpool there were
calls for the use of the chemical MI to be re-evaluated. There have already
been calls to the European Commission by the European Society of Contact
Dermatitis (ESCD) to investigate what levels are safe.

Green People is MI free

Green People’s organic beauty products have
never used methylisothiazolinone as a preservative. Green People uses a range
of mild preservatives including potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, levulinic
acid and sorbic acid which are all generally very well tolerated by the
majority of people, even those with the most sensitive skin

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